On 16^th August,Friday, Hillwoods School, Gandhinagar organised a competition on self-composed poems for the students of classes VI to VIII. The budding poets wielded their pens and wrote extremely emotional and meaningful poems.They recited their poems with great excitement and confidence. This attempt of the middle school students was highly appreciated by the judges.

Hillwoods School, Gandhinagar organised an inter-house folk song competition on 16^th August Friday for the classes VI- X. The students participated with great zeal and enthusiasm,with each house covering and taking inspiration from the rich cultural heritage of our states. The platform gave these young singers a chance to showcase their power in team work and to move the audience with their melodious performances. Overall, the competition ended on an enjoyable note.

While we like using our brush for painting,it�s time to think little out of the box.With this view in mind HILLWOODS SCHOOL,GANDHINAGAR had organized an� Inter �House Painting Without Brush� competition on 26th July 2019 for the students of classes VI-VIII.Students painted excellent ,vibrant and colourful paintings with the use of different materials like cotton balls,toothbrush,ear buds etc. except painting brushes.Their excitement to participate in the competition proved that Hillwoodians are always ready to welcome lot many other possibilities in the field of art.Ujjain House remained the winner of the event.

Sanskrit the mother of all languages. It is also known as surbharti or devvani. On 26 July, 2019 Hillwoods School , Gandhinagar conducted an Inter-House Sanskrit Elocution Competition for classes IX and X. Participants were given three topics like:�Paryavarn Sandarbhe:Vrikshanam Mahatwam�, �Vani Mahatvaam� and �Sadachhar�. Each house participated with dedication and enthusiasm. Participants were judged on the basis of their content ,clarity of speech,fluency and over all presentation . Everyone enjoyed listening to a language which has become vulnerable these days. The competition ended on a very interesting and affirmative note.

On 12^th July, Friday, Hillwoods School Gandhinagar organised an interhouse Hindi debate competition for classes 9th to 12th with the aim to promote the fluency and the vocabulary of its senior students to express themselves in the National Language. With the topic �Should Politics be Considered a Good Career Option?� providing ample area of interest for the young contestants. Each participant expressed their ideals strongly, either against or for the motion. The budding orators held the audience in a trance, effectively using gestures, rage, and voice modulation to make powerful pauses, letting the listeners process the gravity of their words. The debate ended on a productive note, with the Headmistress madam concluding with a few words of wisdom to the students:

�Yoga is deeply spiritual discipline that combines physical,mental,philosophical and spiritual elements�. The International yoga day aims to raise awareness worldwide on benefits of practising yoga. Hillwoods School Gandhinagar celebrated the day organising multiple activities for it�s students. The pre-primary, primary and middle school participated in yoga sessions on the open ground where they learnt the correct postures and basic of various yoga Aasans. Classes 9th and 10th participated in poster making competition under the theme �Yoga in my life�. There creative minds pinned down some thought provoking quotes also. The senior classes 11th and 12th participated in slogan writing to encourage adaptation of Yoga in everyday life.

21^st June, 2019 heralded the first inter-house science quiz competition after summer holidays . The event witnessed enthusiastic preparation and participation.The competition was held for classes 6,7 and 8.Each team was comprised of three participants from each category of classes. Shristi Patel and Ashi Parikh were the quiz masters of the event. The format of the quiz entailed four rounds for each house wherein the final round was a rapid fire round where all the teams scored the most number of marks. Ten marks were awarded for correct answer and five marks for answering bonus questions correctly. Although all the houses participated actively but Nalanda House remained the winner of the competition and were awarded with certificates for the best performance.

Hillwoods School, Gandhinagar organized its first inter-house competition for session 2019-2020 on 3rd May 2019, Friday in the form of a Heritage Quiz for classes IX ,X and XII. Participants were keen and enthusiastic to answer the questions asked by the quiz masters.Quiz included many rounds like � Personality Round, the Visual Round and special questions for the audience were also asked. The quiz ended on an informative and successful note and Ujjain House remained on the top and were declared as the winner of the competition.

�Spelling is important because it aids in reading. It helps cement the connection that is shared between sounds and letters.� Spell Bee Activity was organized on 25th April 2019 in Hillwoods School in the respective classes for primary classes I to V. This activity was one of the numerous enjoyable activities that give students a platform to learn spellings in different ways. This activity helps students improve spellings, increase their vocabulary, learn concept and develop the use of correct English. Children participated earnestly and enthusiastically and learned about the common spellings mistakes they tend to make.

Table manners activity was conducted by HILLWOODS SCHOOL on April 12 2019 for primary section with the objective of strengthening children�s etiquette skills, practicing good table manners. Students brought fork, spoon, tablemat, plate and fruits from home. Teachers explained the students rules etiquette used while eating, which also include appropriate use of utensils. And also gave instructions how to align the fork and spoon before during and after finishing the meal. Children took part in this activity with great enthusiasm and enjoyed it immensely.

The Investiture Ceremony of Hillwoods School Junior Wing Session 2019-�20 was solemnized on May 02, 2019. Hillwoods School has been always instilling every child that comes to this temple of learning with knowledge and values like love and reverence to parents, love for the nation, respect to elders and respecting the rules and regulations of this educational portal. Delegation of responsibilities and giving authority to children is important as it teaches them life-long skills of being powerful and caring at the same time making them best citizens. Investiture Ceremony is one of the most important events of Hillwoods School where in we entrust faith and hope in the newly appointed school council. This ceremony started just after the assembly. Firstly with thanks-giving to the outgoing house-mistresses and the student council members. Then the outgoing house-mistresses were called upon the stage to hand-over their responsibilities to incoming house-mistresses. Thereafter the newly appointed house-mistresses conferred the badges to their respective house prefects. It followed the pattern with Nalanda, Ujjain, Takshshila and Sanchi house. Our Co-coordinator Madam Shilpa Kale then honoured the Vice Captain of each house. Lastly Madam Kiran Upadhyay, our Head-Mistress Ma�am was called upon to honor the Captain, Sports-captain, Head-boy and Head-girl for the session 2019-�20. Later Madam Kiran encouraged all the newly formed council students with a short and motivating speech. The ceremony was completed gracefully and successfully with sincere efforts by the Sports teacher Ms. Maheshwari and the CCA-incharge Ms. Preetti Bhatia and Ms. Lipi Mandal.

Every new session brings more enthusiasm in the hearts of all the Hillwoodsians. The first house meeting of the session 2019-20 was held on April 12, 2019. All the four houses: Nalanda, Ujjain, Takshshila and Sanchi assembled in their alloted venues for the house meeting. Each house discussed about the events of this year which they will be participating in and names of the volunteer candidates were taken for the same. Children were inspired and motivated to come forward and participate whole heartedly in every competition.
As morning shows the day, so all of us are hoping for a very creative and constructive year ahead. The first house meeting of the session went pretty well and was very productive.